Switching from Counterflow to Immersion Chiller... Advice?

[NateBrews]

Which would you say you get better chilling rates from, a whirlpool (immersion + pump) or plate chiller? I've never looked into plate chillers since I made a whirlpool and it is pretty simple to clean. Quickly looking at prices, it doesn't look like there is a big cost difference between a cheap copper immersion chiller + pump (I have a chugger) and a reasonable plate chiller (the one listed above or a therminator).

Besides the chilling, I like having the pump for moving hot water around (strike/sparge).

[brewinhard]

I think a lot of that depends on your groundwater you are chilling with.

I have recently purchased a submersible pump to recirculate ice water through my immersion chiller to help speed up chill times. I have previously used a pre-chiller in an ice bath connected to my immersion chiller in my wort that saves me some time although it obviously requires ice to get the temps down faster. I am hoping that the recirculation will save me on water usage a bit once I get my temps down to 80F or so and switch over to the pump to further drop the temps for ales and lagers.

[BSBrewer]

I have recently purchased a submersible pump to recirculate ice water through my immersion chiller to help speed up chill times.

I added this to my setup a couple years back and it made a HUGE difference in my chill times.

I actually use a Chugger pump for my whirlpool with the IC on tap water until I get to 70-80F (5-10 mins depending on time of year). Then I switch to recirculating ice water for another 10-15. With that I can be at 45F in 15 mins in the winter or 25 mins in the summer. That gives me just enough time to use the wastewater from the initial chill to clean my mash tun and other "early stage" equipment. And crack a beer

[brewinhard]

I have recently purchased a submersible pump to recirculate ice water through my immersion chiller to help speed up chill times.

I added this to my setup a couple years back and it made a HUGE difference in my chill times.

I actually use a Chugger pump for my whirlpool with the IC on tap water until I get to 70-80F (5-10 mins depending on time of year). Then I switch to recirculating ice water for another 10-15. With that I can be at 45F in 15 mins in the winter or 25 mins in the summer. That gives me just enough time to use the wastewater from the initial chill to clean my mash tun and other "early stage" equipment. And crack a beer

So you are seeing times of 25 total minutes - 35 total minutes to get to lager pitching temps depending on time of year? I see you are in Texas too, which is impressive for those times. Is that for 5 or 10 gallon batches? How much ice do you typically have to use to get down to those temps?

[beerded]

Don't buy an immersion chiller. Buy a plate chiller from Duda diesel. Get the biggest one you can afford. I have a B3-36 20. It chilled 10 gallons in 5 mins. Very little water waste. My cost $149
https://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?q ... oCjZ7w_wcB

Do you use a pump for your plate chiller or does gravity suffice?

[beerded]

Thanks everyone so far for the input... I still haven't decided what to do but think a pump is next on my list of toys to acquire. It'd help with my current setup and will likely aid in whatever my next step is. Now I just have to convince wifey that I need it...

[brewinhard]

Thanks everyone so far for the input... I still haven't decided what to do but think a pump is next on my list of toys to acquire. It'd help with my current setup and will likely aid in whatever my next step is. Now I just have to convince wifey that I need it...

Or just buy it and play dumb as to what's in the box on your doorstep...

[BSBrewer]

I have recently purchased a submersible pump to recirculate ice water through my immersion chiller to help speed up chill times.

I added this to my setup a couple years back and it made a HUGE difference in my chill times.

I actually use a Chugger pump for my whirlpool with the IC on tap water until I get to 70-80F (5-10 mins depending on time of year). Then I switch to recirculating ice water for another 10-15. With that I can be at 45F in 15 mins in the winter or 25 mins in the summer. That gives me just enough time to use the wastewater from the initial chill to clean my mash tun and other "early stage" equipment. And crack a beer

So you are seeing times of 25 total minutes - 35 total minutes to get to lager pitching temps depending on time of year? I see you are in Texas too, which is impressive for those times. Is that for 5 or 10 gallon batches? How much ice do you typically have to use to get down to those temps?

Yes, in Austin. 5.5G to the fermentor so I'm chilling about 6G of wort and intentionally leaving 1 or 2 quarts behind with the trub.

It used to take me an hour or more just to get to ale temps. Of all the purchases I've made since starting, the pump made the biggest difference when I consider both the time it saves me every brew day and the improvement it made in my beer.